‘He really sounded sorry,’ she said. ‘And I believed him. And I know that Kate’s always so fair and that if people deserve it, they will always get a second chance.’
They were looking at each other.Again. Kate and Connor. And this time there was more than a hint of a smile on both their faces. A private, significant sort of smile.
By the time the police had finished the interview, the photographer and fingerprint technician were also finished and they were told they were free to go home.
‘We’ll be in touch if we need anything more before the trial date gets set.’
Bella stood up to follow the police officers. When she turned to see if Kate was going to come home with her, she found Connor and Kate looking at each other. Again. And this time they were holding hands.
Bella had to clear her throat to get noticed.
‘You go on,’ Kate told her. ‘I need a minute or two to get my head together and maybe tidy up a bit.’
Bella hesitated.
‘Don’t worry,’ Connor said. ‘I’ll look after her.’
He would, too. Bella could see the way he was looking at Kate and for the first time since this whole horrible thing had happened, Bella could feel a bubble of something good inside. Something was going on between Kate and Connor that hadn’t been there before.
Something reallygood.
She really did need to get out and give them some time alone, but still she hesitated.
‘It’s okay, Bells,’ Kate said. ‘I’m not mad at you. You honestly believe the best of people and most of the time it’s a very good trait to have. And, you know, you might have just done us all a favour.’
‘What?’ The word came out as a surprised squeak.
‘It sounds like they’re going to lock Kevin up and throw the key away this time and that’s going to keep us all safe. You brought things out into the open and that’s probably where they should have been all along. Secrets can be destructive.’
She looked up at Connor and smiled, and Bella knew she was really, really in the way now.
‘I’m going,’ she announced. ‘I’m going to ring Mum and Dad and confess before they hear about it from anyone else. Especially the police. I’ll see you later.’
The ‘Crime Scene – Do Not Disturb’ tape had been torn off one side of the doorframe. Bella paused and looked over her shoulder to see Connor closing the door of Kate’s office. Then she saw his hands reach for the venetian-blind control, shutting the office into a completely private space.
Bella’s lips twitched. This couldn’t be counted as meddling, could it?
She picked up the end of the red tape and stuck it back on the doorframe. The cleaners and anybody else would just have to wait a while.
* * *
Kate watched Connor close and lock the door of her office and close the blinds, giving them privacy.
This was the furthest he’d been away from her since he’d barrelled into her with that rugby tackle that had probably saved her from getting half a broken bottle in her face.
The memory of how real the danger she’d been in had been seemed to be causing some kind of delayed reaction now that it was finally all over and everybody else had gone. Kate was trembling all over.
‘Oh, Katie…’ The tenderness in Connor’s voice undid her completely. Kate took his outstretched hands and let him pull her to her feet and into his arms.
‘Hold me,’ she whispered. ‘Please… I want to feel safe.’
‘You are safe,’ Connor whispered back. ‘I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. I love you, Kate.’
Safe. Yes, despite the trembling, Kate did still feel safe. Safer than she’d ever felt in her life because, for the first time, she wasn’t totally responsible for her own safety like she had been when she’d been keeping those dark secrets. Connor knew almost everything about her and… he loved her?
Kate had to pull back to look into his face and search for confirmation of those miraculous words.
And it was there. In the way he was looking at her. In the love she could see in his eyes. In the way his hands were holding her. Loosely now, so that his hands could stroke her body.
